Too good to waste: How to recycle an old building for use on a brand new one

30 Duke Street side elevation CGI

Source: GPE/The Boundary

30 Duke Street on Piccadilly features reclaimed steel, recycled glass, aluminium window frames and Portland stone from the building there before. Thomas Lane went along to have a look

The protracted planning battle over the carbon emissions from the redevelopment of Marks & Spencer’s flagship Oxford Street store and the introduction of carbon offset pricing by Westminster council and the City of London has prompted a huge shift towards refurbishment over redevelopment in the capital over the past five years. And many in the industry – particularly large developers, designers, consultants and contractors – are keen to reduce the carbon emissions from construction. 

But what about those buildings that are beyond viable refurbishment because they are in a terrible condition, or where the floor to ceiling heights are impossibly low? Sometimes, it may even be more carbon efficient to demolish a building rather than spend a lot of time and resources trying to bring a basket case up to scratch.

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